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HomeHome > IP Express > EU > Patent

Tulip land sales ban against Sunwoda’s car batteries

Post time：06-03 2025 Source：juve-patent
tags： NPE patent infringement battery
font-size: +-
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A Munich court has temporarily barred the Chinese Sunwoda Group from selling batteries in Germany. The ruling primarily affects imports of the Dacia Spring, an electric car distributed by Renault. Non-practising entity Tulip brought the lawsuit.
 
Munich Regional Court under presiding judge Oliver Schön has prohibited the import and sale of the Dacia Spring in Germany. Romanian manufacturer Dacia, part of the Renault Group, produces the small electric car in China. The Dacia Spring uses Sunwoda batteries and is sold globally.
 
NPE Tulip Innovation successfully sued several Sunwoda companies based on two patents, EP 1 829 139 B1 and EP 2 528 141 B1 (case IDs: 7 O 7590/24 and 7 O 7654/24).
 
Tulip and LG Energy Solution co-own both patents, which relate to a battery separator and element for car battery safety and performance.
 
Swift decision
 
The court handed down its judgment on 22 May, the same day as the oral hearing. Such immediate rulings have become more common in Munich, as seen in the 2023 dispute between Huawei and Amazon.
 
Oliver SchönOliver Schön
 
Tulip has not yet enforced the ruling against Sunwoda, and Sunwoda has not filed an appeal, though this is considered likely.
 
The sales ban is not yet in effect, and the two companies are expected to enter licence negotiations. Should these fail, Tulip may file further lawsuits to increase pressure on the Chinese battery maker.
 
The NPE has ample opportunity to do so, owning a portfolio of over 5,000 patents. Most of these belong to LG Energy Solution and Panasonic Energy.
 
Battery destruction looms
 
If Tulip enforces the ruling, Sunwoda would need to destroy all batteries imported into Germany.
 
However, the Chinese manufacturer may continue selling its product outside Germany. The Munich ruling does not affect Dacia Spring sales in other countries, and there are no lawsuits against Sunwoda elsewhere.
 
In Germany, Sunwoda filed nullity actions against EP 139 and EP 141. The Federal Patent Court’s preliminary opinion deemed the patents likely valid, which may have prompted the swift infringement ruling in Munich. However, the Federal Patent Court will not rule on the patents’ validity until summer 2026.
 
First injunction against car batteries
 
The Sunwoda dispute is part of Tulip’s large-scale campaign against Chinese battery manufacturers. The NPE previously sued CosMX and BAK Power. Both battery makers filed nullity actions against EP 139 and EP 141 but then quickly reached agreements with Tulip.
 
According to JUVE Patent sources, the injunction against Sunwoda is the first in Germany against a car battery manufacturer.
 
In early 2024, Munich Regional Court ordered that Acer could no longer sell laptops containing lithium-ion batteries from Chinese manufacturer CosMX Power, nor could CosMX sell its individual batteries.
 
Recently, another car battery technology dispute concluded when MU Ionics and CATL signed a licensing deal. That dispute concerned car batteries used in Opel vehicles in Germany. However, the January 2023 ruling did not result in an injunction. Düsseldorf Regional Court ruled that CATL and Opel did not infringe MU Ionic’s patent (case ID: 4c O 53/21).。
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